The Reef opened on August 8th, 1958, and was co-owned by George Millay, creator of Sea World. The original restaurant had interior designs by Bobby Mavis, and had "Hula Grounds" with many tikis.

The Reef burned down in 1974, and was later re-built in 1980 by David Tallichet, one of the original partners in the old restaurant.

Tallichet and his company have run over 100 restaurants around the country over the years. The other Polynesian project he is well-known for is the Ports O' Call Restaurant at the Ports O' Call Village.

However, Tallichet re-built the new Reef building in a mining theme, that was popular around the country at the time, with lots of raw wood beams. He was later heard to voice regret that he didn't stick to the original Polynesian theme so many area residents fondly remembered. It's since been remodeled several times and the mining theme has been erased as well. The current restaurant isn't really tiki or Polynesian at all but it is almost 3 times as large as its predecessor and is still run by Tallichet's family-owned company, Specialty Restaurants Corporation, which currently owns 18 other restaurants, including The Castaway in Burbank, Castaway in San Bernardino, the aviation-themed Proud Bird ear LAX and 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys as well as Orange Hill in Orange.

Opened June 30th, 1963.

The Hawaiian Hut restaurant was on the lower level of the Eastland Park Hotel (now the Westin Portland Harborview), until 1990 when the space was converted to a function room, today called Longfellow Hall.

Chateau Avalon opened in 2004 and has 23 unique rooms decorated in a variety of themes, including Mayan, Egyptian, Renaissance, and of course, Tiki (Tahitian).

There are two rooms, both on the third floor, decorated in their "Tahitian" style (although the tikis used are actually large Moai). One of the two is a two-level "Treehouse" suite.

Bar and restaurant, with karaoke, opened and closed sometime around 2010.

Now appears to be a Mexican restaurant called "Amigos".

Pacific Ocean Park was a theme park on a pier extending into the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. At the very end of the park was Mystery Island, a South Seas-themed area with a volcano and a train ride.

Dedication on July 10th, 1958. Actress Mitzi Gaynor (from the film, South Pacific) was there to drop a lei into the waters and do the hula. See below...

It opened to the public on Saturday, July 28, 1958 with an attendance of 20,000. The next day, it drew 37,262, outperforming Disneyland's attendance that day!

Pacific Ocean Park closed in 1967, and was demolished in the mid-'70s.

Opened @ June 8th, 1958 when they started advertising in the Santa Ana Register.

Themed motel just south of Disneyland. This site is now Eden Roc Inn & Suites.

The Waikiki Motel had a prime location, just south of Disneyland (the park is even painted into the background of the Waikiki Motel's postcards). The building is gone, this site now holds the Desert Palm Inn & Suites.

For many years, the Aku Aku Motel (also known as the Aku Aku Motor Inn) had a glorious A-frame entrance but it was demolished in October 2006, and now no traces of tiki remain. A few years later, the name was changed to Best Western Woodland Hills Inn, and now any hint of its tiki history is gone.

This Trader Vic's was opened in the Caribe Hilton in 1961. It had a large A-frame entrance, with the front of the A-frame painted with rows of small, simple tropical-motif scenes, and an even larger, matching, swooping A-frame structure over a section of the restaurant that overlooked the ocean. The space is now called the Lemongrass Restaurant, and still has the larger, swooping A-frame structure.

Owned by local restaurant moguls “Jake” and “Mama Jo” Tavenner, the Kahlua Hut was operated by Bernie Atkins and Bob McGeehan from spring 1967 until 1973.

Located in a former ice cream shop at Riggs Road and East-West Highway (built in 1955), its décor was “that of a South Pacific hut—thatched roofs, hurricane lights, can-like fixtures and, at least once a week, a hula band.” It seated up to 140 patrons, leaving floor space for seven-nights-a-week dancing. The Kahlua Hut’s pan-Asian and “continental” cuisine was initially prepared by Chef Yee M. Kiang. The restaurant staff fielded a team of duckpin bowlers competitive locally and nationally.

Featured on its drinks menu was the “Kahlua Tiki Tumbler,” offered in such a mug: “an exotic mixture of the finest rums and passion fruits, gin and vermouth.” For $2.15 total, the mug was yours to take.

After 1973, this location became The Outrigger, presumably with the same Pop Polynesian theme intact.

Today, as of 2023, this original 1955 building is still intact and house three businesses (Dry Cleaners, Bakery, and Pizza Bolis).

Opened in 2006.

The Muse du Quai Branly (or, the Quai Branly Museum, for us English-types) is a museum dedicated to non-Western art, from Oceania, the Americas and Africa. The museum has a large, permanent collection of Oceanic art from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and more. The artifacts in this collection are traditional and not Polynesian Pop, but are an excellent example of the influences that Polynesian Pop grew out of.

From June 24-September 28, 2014, the museum held a special exhibition, "Tiki Pop," curated by Sven Kirsten, author of The Book of Tiki and Tiki Modern. Kirsten collected specimens of Polynesian Pop culture to tell the story of the rise, fall, and rebirth of American Polynesian idealism. The Mai Tai Room, was part of this exhibit -- a complete tiki bar that Cheeky Tiki installed and which featured a carved tiki by Jamie Wilson. The tiki is now currently residing with Sven Kirsten at his home bar in Silverlake, CA. To complement the exhibit, a companion book and documentary were also produced.

The museum is very near the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

Vera's White Sands began in 1960 as a private club, White Sands Yacht Club, owned by Dr. Effrus Freeman and his wife, Vera, and opened on a small part of 800 acres of land they owned. As the years progressed and the area was developed, the once-private club was opened to the public, sometime in the '70s.

Vera's White Sands has varying seasonal hours, open more during the summer months, and slips are still available for rental. For many decades, the main attraction was Miss Vera herself (Dr. Freeman passed away in the '70s); the well-traveled woman added a touch of glamour and exotica to the proceedings, and played the perfect hostess to the guests. She passed away January 23, 2007, at the age of 93.

In 2006, Vera transferred ownership of Vera's White Sands to a new owner, who has removed most of the classic Polynesian Pop touches, in favor of a more Maryland Crab Shack or Jimmy Buffet-flavored tropical scene; the changes have been poorly received in the tiki community.

For all intents and purposes, Vera's White Sands Beach Club as tiki fans remember it is gone. The new restaurant may have "Vera's" in the title but that's about it -- there are a couple of cartoony tikis flanking the stage in back where they have live music and bikini contests. A few other details remain, but nothing like it was before.